Beauty in your life- change your thoughts for a positive outlook
What could you do less of?
Now that I’ve gotten older, I sure can definitely find ways to live a less sedentary lifestyle.
I find myself sitting more than moving these days. Knowing I need to move more by walking, taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
But saying these things and acting on them are two different things. If they are going to work I need to change my habits. It’s so easy to become lazy.
Sitting for long periods of time increases the risk of heart and circulatory diseases.
Walking in disobedience is choosing self-will over God’s will. The Bible tells us that God expects obedience and that disobedience can have serious consequences.
Disobedience can lead to suffering and catastrophic results, we see this with the Israelites. They experienced the consequences of their disobedience for 40 years, with an average if 130 people dying each day. When they left Egypt to enter the “promised land.”
Our disobedience can even hurt those who are closest to us. A drug addict who chooses to not obey God, and continues down a path of self-destruction, not only hurts themselves but causes destruction in their families as well. I worked at a place for recovering addicts for a few years. Every Friday we would have a support group. Many Fridays the families of addicts would come to the group for support. It was truly heartbreaking to see the results of their son or daughter had destroyed them. I only worked for about two years because it was very stressful work.
Their are Bible references that tell us about obedience and disobedience including:
To overcome disobedience we need a new heart and a new nature, this is why when we accept God, He gives us a renewed spirit and we become a new creation.
When we disobey God, He promises trouble for our consequences. God uses some pretty harsh words to tell us there will be consequences to our disobeying. God is pretty clear that:
“We are free to choose, but we are not free from the consequences of our choice.”
What positive events have taken place in your life over the past year?
Both positive and negative events are beneficial for our lives. Positive events give us hope, and negative events help us grow and learn.
As human beings we tend to focus on negative events rather than positive ones, meaning negative experiences often have a stronger impact on our emotions and memory.
We have to change of perspective on negative events, and see them as growing and learning experiences, which can lead to positive outcomes.
Over the last year, my relationship with family has grown stronger. I let my beliefs be known more, and help shape lives rather than feel like I’m invading on a person’s privacy. If they tell me, and another family member tells me of a struggle they’re having. I tell them I can help with that, and instead of them thinking I’m in their business, they accept the help. With has led to positive outcomes -at least so far.
The positive is I’m getting closer to family, and it may give me a chance to tell them about Jesus who will transform their lives. if the Holy Spirit leads me to. If you know me at all, it’s not about pushing my beliefs on anyone, but it’s about loving them first, and then listening and obeying what the Holy Spirit leads you to say.
Our emotional health is an important aspect of our overall well-being, yet it can be challenging to maintain in today’s fast-paced and stressful world. It’s easy to struggle with anxiousness, feeling down, and other emotions that impact our daily lives.
I have struggled with emotional health all my life, mainly due to my experiences as a child and young adulthood. Because of this, my parasympathetic nervous system didn’t develop correctly. I tend to cry when I’m happy, sad, or angry and sometimes for no apparent reason at all. But, over the years I’ve learned to cope pretty well.
I think we can all agree that everyone deals with negative thoughts and feelings at times.
I’ve become better equipped to deal with my feelings when I decided to take a biblical perspective on my emotional health. It’s important to learn to process your emotions in a healthy way.
By implementing a few practices I’ve found ways to deal with my emotions during most circumstances.
These practices include:
Seeking God’s Wisdom in every circumstance. The Bible is a valuable resource for understanding God’s perspective on our emotions and how to handle them.
For example, Proverbs 12:25 says,
“Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.”
Worrying and anxiety can weigh us down, but the words of wisdom found in scripture can bring us joy and peace. I find that Psalm 23 and Isaiah 42 help me find reassurance in difficult times.
Practicing Gratitude. Being grateful for the blessings in our lives can help shift our focus away from negative emotions and toward positive ones.
Expressing gratitude to God for the good things in our lives can help us develop a deeper sense of contentment.
Connecting with others. Having strong relationships with a few friends and family members can provide support and encouragement during hard times.
Being part of something, whether it be a church or a small group can help you feel not so alone. I belong to a small prayer meeting once a week, which I know I can share anything with, and they will support me and do whatever is necessary to help me, if need be.
Hebrews 10:24-25 encourages us to consider how to stir up one another to love and do good works, and no to neglect to meet with one another. To encourage one another always.
Take care of your physical health. Our physical health greatly impacts our emotional well-being.
Eating healthy, and getting enough sleep along with exercising regularly helps to not only keep our bodies in good shape but our minds as well.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 reminds us that “your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within us. We are not our own but were bought with a price. And we should glorify God in our bodies.
The most important practice is:
Trusting in God’s plan. Trusting in God’s plan for our lives and understanding that He is in control can help ease anxiety and bring peace to our hearts.
Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and Ge will make straight your paths.”
Whether I cry when I’m happy, sad, or angry I know everything will turn out fine, even when I don’t understand why, because God is in control and has a plan.
Emotional health is not just about feeling good all the time, but about being able to process and handle our emotions in a healthy way.
Do you ever feel like you’ve completely blown it with God? As if he’s thinking I’ve really had it. I’ve given you enough chances. I’m done with you.
I joke all the time that I am on my third guardian angel, because they have pulled their hair out and bitten their nails down to nothing, keeping me safe from some of the things I’ve done.
But the truth of the matter is we serve a God of second chances, because He knew we’d never get it right the first time and maybe not the third or fourth time.
A second cancer means that He doesn’t give us just one shot at impressing Him or earning His love or getting it right.
I believe God gave American a second chance on November 5, 2024. A second chance a reprieve for us to have courage and to be bold and work for God. Many people prayed for America to be forgiven for being lazy and letting God be taken out of American institutions without a fight. Which have caused a serious lack of morals and the value system that we once held so dear.
There are reasons God gives us second chances and we should not take advantage of it.
I believe He has given us a second chance because Scripture attests to it.
Psalm 103:10-13 tells us,
“He had not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our guilty deeds. For as high as the heavens are above the earth. So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our wrongdoings from us” – NASB
If God were to deal with us, according to our sins, He would be punishing us every time we committed an offense against Him.  the net worth in this passage comparing God’s mercy and compassion to that of an earthly father who loves his children.
“Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him” -Psalm 103:13
Scripture also tells us of God’s mercy and second chance He gave King David, who knew better than to commit adultery and then murder her husband and then covet up his sin. When David wrote a song of confession God gave him a second chance. David wrote:
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love, according to Your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin…”
Jesus taught us that we serve a God of second chances.
People tend to live by a “three strikes you’re out” motto when it comes to others offenses toward them. But Jesus was aware of our tendency to blow people off, or cut them off all together if they offend them more than once or twice.
My father always told me to live by the motto “fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.” In other words don’t give anyone three chances to fool you.
Peter asked Jesus in Matthew 18:21-22, how many times he should forgive the same person who offended him. Peter probably thought he as extra generous when h asked Jesus if he should forgive “up to seven times.” But Jesus, the God of second chances, told Peter “not seven times, but seventy-seven times. Jesus was teaching we must forgive our offender an unlimited amount of times, because that’s the way our Heavenly Father has forgiven us.
Jesus taught that our forgiveness for others should never run out, because that’s the way He forgives. He is a God with unlimited amounts of grace, mercy, and forgiveness. And that definitely means He’s the God of a second chance.
God had given us a second chance and we should take every opportunity to work to please Him everyday. And teach people what we have learned about good morals and values and keeps us in faith. This reprieve we have been given isn’t a time to get back into our lazy whimsical ways, but to help others see the “Joy of the Lord.”
He is after all the God of second chances.
Do you ever see wild animals?
I have a flow of deer in my yard. My neighbor has a small orchard and does not pick all the fruit from the trees. So they come here to eat.
Deer absolutely love pumpkin. So, after Halloween, I can usually pick up pumpkins at my grocery store on clearance, then buy a few for the deer.
My husband took a quick shot of one last fall from a short distance. The deer around here aren’t to skittish, because they know they wont be harmed, mind you this picture was taken from a cheap cell phone, so it’s not a quality picture. But it was a close up. And he is eating pumpkin.
Do you have a favorite place you have visited? Where is it?
The favorite place I’ve visited is Texas. San Antonio. I spent 10 days there. And loved everything about it. The weather, the people, the food was amazing. Out of everything I enjoyed the Riverwalk.
Every one of us has inner strength, far beyond what we are aware of. The extent to which your inner strength is buried affects your access to it, but with the right effort, you can discover these strengths hidden inside. Childhood traumas and life experiences may have concealed your inner strengths which may the cause for problems you have with self-confidence in accessing these strengths, but they are and always remain something that is a birthright. They wait right beneath the surface, beckoning to be released. Finding these inner strengths is not very easy and there are no magic pills. It takes painstaking work. And with diligence and persistence, it is possible to uncover them. This begins with the attitude and commitment that you are going to invest in finding your inner strengths and using the technique to do the work.
Embrace Challenges
The Olives on an olive tree do not produce oil until it is pressed. Just as don’t see the best person until we meet challenges in our life, meaning that without some pressure we will not access our strength. Pressure builds a drive to overcome the obstacle, the need to find a way only happens when we are pressed to find it. People will always find solutions that they never would have thought of had they not been under pressure. The pressure in our lives dislodges and forces the hidden strengths to the surface,
This of a dam. As the dam restrains a flow of water, the water builds up pressure, and continues growing in strength, until, the point that the water can burst through the dam with enormous intensity – power that would never have been tapped were there no resistance from the dam. The deeper the resistance, the more power is built up. This principle holds true in our personal lives.
Baby Steps
Over time, it gets harder to express repressed inner strength. Eventually you need to begin using this like a tool, like a muscle that felt like it was wasting away. Slowing warming it up and exercising it gently you can get it ready to use again.
Embracing challenges and putting ourselves in situations where we have to find solutions is necessary to build inner strength. But, we need to do it in a way that is not overwhelming -challenging ourselves but not demoralizing us. The key is to not force anything, and not “bite off more than we can chew,” which sets us up for failure. Don’t take on more work or a bigger task than you can do. The key is to score small victories, they build up your strength and confidence. Find small, scenarios where you can exercise your inner strengths face small obstacles. Aiming for perfection is not realistic, but aiming for hope and attainable goals are more important during this time.
Spend Time With Strong People
Success is contagious. Excellence brings out excellence, and mediocrity brings out mediocrity. Being around people who access and express their inner strengths can help you build and express your inner strengths, while being around fearful people only builds fear. It is okay if you feel a little bit inferior to them because healthy envy motivates and increases wisdom.
Stand For Something
With success bringing on success, it also means excellence brings out excellence, and mediocrity brings out mediocrity. We should ask ourselves: Is there anything so important to you that it is not optional? What is your Inner strength for? What do you stand for? Will we look for something permanent rather than things that are of a physical nature such as money, pleasure, or prestige? It will things like helping others, sharing wisdom, and pursuing spirituality which are eternal nature. We should direct our inner strength toward something beyond and greater than ourselves.
The more I get to know myself the more I realize I am my own enemy. I often wonder if this is a paradox that’s holding back.
We are so used to living in our comfort zone that being imprisoned feels safer. Fear, routine, procrastination, busyness, comparing ourselves to others, and self-doubt. Why do we keep what we love behind bars?
There’s a quote by Denis Whitley I have stuck on my refrigerator. “It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not.”
Our lives are boundless, there are so many possibilities. However, we must first conquer what is holding us back -our minds.
I often create my own suffering, by the perceptions of myself.
Our pursuit of happiness can quickly turn into obsession. The more we chase it the less we will enjoy it. We expect happiness to happen to us, rather than develop an appreciation for it.
Consciously or not, we all desire fear and happiness at the same time.
Happiness is a byproduct, not a goal. Enjoying something is a path towards loving it in the long run.
How would reactors on us, no one on earth will let you out of your perceived misery. We have to stop waiting for someone to fix our problems, when it’s up to us.
Other people can influence how we live, only if we let them. Being in charge of our lives is our responsibility.
All the decisions we make are based on either of love or fear.
 It seems like we’re all fighting what we can’t manage or doesn’t go our way which only gets us stuck in a losing battle.
When we can adapt our reality, it doesn’t mean that we are giving up. It means we stop using fighting battles and focus our energy on what really matters.
Loa Tzo said “water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome what is rigid and hard. This is another paradox: what is soft is strong.”
We need to learn to be fluid and as adaptive as water.
I think we all overthink when we really need to move into action. Overthinking paralyzes us, and there is no worse outcome. Not all of us have answers to what is right. We all learn as we go. The more we do something the better we become at it. But mastery requires practice. Doing is how we get there.
When you come round to taste our gut. It is good to have a bright, analytical brain, but at the end of the day our stomach is the smartest organ in our body.
When we feed our thoughts we live through them. thinking is natural, but looking at life through our thoughts will eat us alive. We need to learn with our thoughts. Our thoughts distort our perspectives.
We create our thoughts, and our thoughts create our intentions, and our intentions create our reality.
Living in a way you want to be remembered. That’s how we stop being afraid of dying. When we let our passion, not our fears drive us.
We need to stop looking outside if we don’t expect others to tell us how to achieve our dreams. The answer is in us. Change comes from within.
We cannot change until we choose to change.
What we do in our mind is what holding us back. Our dreams depend on us. Only we can set ourselves free.
Share five things you’re good at.
I don’t like to brag about myself it’s not one of my strong points. Too much bragging can lead to pride. And God hates a prideful person. Everything good in our lives comes from God.
As an introvert, there are a few things that come to mind that I’ve come to realize. I am a good listener, and a good friend because I keep secrets. I like learning new things because my mind is constantly thinking. I learn new things easily. I seem to have a creative streak running through me. I enjoy reading. But I think that goes along with wanting to learn new things constantly.
I am a person who stays more focused on my inner experiences rather than my external ones. I am very self-aware and self-reliant.
“Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character” -1 Corinthians 15:33
We should consider the company we keep, and the influence of out character. Human nature reflects the behavior of those we spend the most time with.
In order to keep every thought captive we must guard our hearts and keep God’s truth at the center of our souls. We must stay obedient to God.
Psalm 1:1-3 gives us some advice,
“Blessed is the man who doesn’t walk in the counsel of the wicked, not stand on the path of sinners, not sit in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the Lord’s law. On his Torah (Bible) he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree planted by the streams of water, that produces its fruit in its season, whose leaf also does not wither. Whatever he does will prosper” (Messianic).
If we seek to be influenced instead of being influenced we can work to please God and not people. If you look closely God has been showing up in the world in massive ways. Some people are too blind to see it.
In the Greek language “corrupt” is translated as “to destroy.”
God’s children need to be strong and immovable (1 Corinthians 15:17 NLT).
When you are filled with the Holy Spirit of the Living God, you can be a blessing to others and be rejuvenated.
The world will wear us down, and we need friends, but true friends. Choose a friend for Quality not Quantity. Brothers and sisters that are rooted in Christ.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Jesus sent His disciples out in pairs. To help them stay cheerful, and to influence others.
Are you being an influencer for good, or are you being influenced by what corrupts your life?
What is one thing you would change about yourself?
I have developed some pretty good coping skills for everything that comes my way. But one thing I would change about myself is my low pain tolerance.
And at the same time, I have allergies to most pain medication. I’m allergic to the fillers that are in them. So, I am limited on what pain relievers I can take.
The combination of being allergic to pain medication and having a low pain tolerance level is a reason for disaster.
From Pity to Praise